Smile
by potatopersonal
Summary: Russia hides himself behind mental walls and fake smiles. America does his best to break through.


Smile. That's what came at first to mind whenever other nations thought of him. A constant smile, despite the fact that Russians don't smile often. It intimidated them, it seemed, as it didn't seem to fit. And they were right. Russia's smile was constantly faked.

It was a type of protection he had formed long ago. Smile, instead of cry out in fear. Confuse the enemy, lessen the pain. Smile to make others think everything is going smoothly, to protect them. Smile to hide insecurities, to hide his true emotions, to hide the pain. The forced smile contrasted greatly with the dead look in eyes, creating the intimidating look he had, but Russia was used to it. It was a wall of protection he had built, his line of defense; he wouldn't, couldn't, break in front of the others- his leaders had made sure of that. They had destroyed him over and over again, forcing him to seclude his inner self.

Yet, somehow... the cheerful blond that was America somehow managed to make a hole in his blockade. Whether it was the prick of annoyance that seemed to be America's specialty, he somehow could manage to get Russia to express _some_ form of genuine emotion, even if only for a split second. America; the nation could anger someone and simultaneously make them laugh, could easily get anyone to smile with that happy grin of his. England was a prime example of this. Even after berating America for something that he messed up on, America would say something witty that would make the snippy Englishman laugh, and the two would reconcile. Hell, he's made the serious Germany struggle to keep himself together by laughing too hard. It was clear why America was a hero; he could break down walls, physically as well as emotional and mental ones.

America was slowly but surely breaking through his own walls. It created mixed feelings for the Russian. On one hand, someone was trying to get through to him, despite how he was portrayed, despite the intimidating look he had. On the other hand, however, someone was trying to break his protection. If he broke, and his leaders caught wind of it... perhaps his sanity would finally snap. Shoving those thoughts back, he would stay away from America, silver bangs partially covering his bangs, and continue to force the damned fake smile onto his face.

Despite his efforts, America kept getting closer and closer to destroying the barrier completely. If he was feeling the need to _hurt and bleed_ and seclude himself at a meeting, America would sneak up and proceed to loudly chatter into his ear, about some new fighting game that had recently come out, and how excited he was to play it. Or perhaps, if he was quietly sitting by himself during the break for lunch, America would plop next to him, greasy McDonald's bag in his hand as always, complaining about some nations that he was frustrated at. Or perhaps he would get rid of any subtleties and loudly wonder what type of "commie food" Russia had brought this time.

As Russia grew used to the presence of the boisterous America, he began to subconsciously relax, shoulders loosening, smile losing that edge. Of course as soon as America pointed the changes out, his mask was slipped back on.

Then came the time that America somehow managed to get Russia to have a genuine smile. It was small, tentative, barely visible over the light pink scarf Russia constantly wore. It caused America to pause in the story he was telling to stare at Russia, before breaking into a large, happy grin, bouncing on his feet, and snapped a quick photo before the smile could disappear. As Russia realized what had happened, fear rolling through his body because _he had broke,_ America pulled Russia into a tight hug, Russia stiffening from the initial contact; but as his shoulders slumped, and his face was being buried into the wool of America's jacket, America finally did it. He broke all the way through.

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America wasn't stupid. He had his moments ( a large amount of them), and was perhaps a little eccentric, but he _did_ have a brain _somewhere_ inside his skull. He liked to make them smile, improve their day, even if for only a moment. It was one of America's goals to get nations to express their emotions more, to burst through any barrier set up and get them to truly react.

He supposes that England was his first testing dummy, back when he was still a child. America had noticed how calm England would be around him, so strong it almost creeped him out. Wanting to get him to express some other emotion, America did "experiments", otherwise known as pissing England the hell off. He would be mischievous, and pull pranks, or say things that would boil anyone's blood. Within a week, he had England yelling angrily at him. With these results, he tried other techniques for different emotions, and soon enough, England would express a large variety of emotions.

His next "test subjects" consisted of rather quiet humans that he met as he grew up. He learned ways to open them up, to talk. Going back to the nations, he had managed to get through some of the quieter nations. Canada, his brother; Japan; Germany, Sweden. Even some of the louder nations, such as Poland or Denmark. But there was one he had the most difficult time with; Russia. The nation was quiet, very much so, and kept to himself, a creepy grin plastered on his face.

America began with his favorite technique; annoyance. Even after all these years, he still loved to piss everything and everyone off, and so he began to try and crack through Russia's defenses. After a few days of nonstop annoyance, he moved on to being rude. Nothing. He went for other techniques, trying to chat him to death. Nada. He was about to give up and try something else, when one day, he managed to get a small crack. It consisted of being both as infuriating as possible and supportive, a strange mix. It resulted in Russia giving a look of annoyance and a "shut your trap, America", and while it _was_ small, it was something.

As time passed, he managed to make a small dent, when the unthinkable happened. The creation of the Soviet Union. There had to be a new personification entirely; his hair was too dark, his stature too tall to be Russia. Not only that, but their personalities were entirely different The smile was long gone, a look of superiority on his haughty face. It became clear to America as soon as the Cold War began, and he focused his energy on defeating this _thing_ that tried to impersonate Russia. How the others hadn't noticed, America had no idea, but he figured that if he could defeat Communism, aka have the Soviet Union collapse, the real Russia would be let free.

America made progress in defeating the Soviet Union; whether it be in space or technology, the Soviet Union clearly had a limited amount of money, and was falling behind. He wondered how Russia was faring, knowing that the Republics underneath the government were suffering, but how much wasn't clear.

And finally, after over thirty years of struggle, the Soviet Union finally collapsed. It was just after a world meeting; he would have to wait another year to see how Russia was doing. As the year passed, he grew increasingly anxious, to the point of England yelling at him to be quiet and to calm down. Finally, the time came for the next World Meeting. America was the first one there, the next one being Germany who stared in confusion, as America was usually the last one there, sparing Italy. Eventually, as the others came in, the nation he was looking for came through the doorway. The loud room grew quiet as Russia took his seat. Yes, America thought to himself, it truly was him, silvery hair and ever present scarf, bundled in a large suit.

As the meeting went on, he realized how quiet the man was. He was quiet before, very quiet, but now he was essentially mute, speaking only once, and that was only because he had been asked a question. The smile was back, but now it was obvious to the American that it was forced; a larger wall had been constructed, it seemed, to protect Russia from whatever had occurred. It seemed he would have to work twice as hard now to break through.

Nevertheless, as time passed, he made progress, no matter how small. It was now modern time, and he had broken a hole.

"Soon enough," America had thought to himself, "I'll be able to completely break through and actually reach him."

It was another World Meeting, and America took it upon himself to talk with Russia. He was in the middle of telling a funny story, when he saw Russia crack a small smile. Bursting with happiness and joy, he took a quick snapshot on his phone, and give the other nation a tight hug. He felt Russia tense, caught off guard. Then, suddenly, Russia began to tremble, soft sounds muffled by America's jacket. With a pang, America realized that Russia was crying. As he wondered why the hell Russia was doing that, he came to the depressing conclusion that Russia wasn't used to being touched without any malicious intent. As he patted Russia on the back, whispering things that he hoped would comfort the other nation, he became determined to help Russia on a personable level, become more sociable, get him to be more trusting. He would do whatever he could simply to get Russia to smile genuinely, to make him experience happiness. At the front of his mind, though, was the realization that he had finally broken through Russia's walls.

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 _Well, this is it. I really don't know what the hell I just wrote, and I'm almost positive the psychology steps aren't correct, but hey, it suits America. I have no idea as to how the fuck I managed to write so much, especially since this is a oneshot. Anyways, please tell me what you all think! I hope you enjoyed this story. -Potato_


End file.
